I cooked food from São Tomé and Príncipe last week, another small country for which it was not easy to find dishes to make. I got a few suggestions on Reddit but most dishes I did find were either more popular elsewhere, or not feasible for me to make.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island country consisting of two main islands, from which the country takes its name. It is located in the Gulf of Guinea, in Central Africa, and is the second-smallest and second-least populous country in Africa, after Seychelles (coming up relatively soon in my challenge!)
Most island countries I have explored during this challenge had their own native people, who were driven out or eradicated by colonists. However, these islands were uninhabited when the Portuguese explorers discovered them around 1470. The Portuguese settled on the islands and turned them into a trade centre for the Atlantic slave trade. Crops such as sugar, coffee, and cocoa grew well there, so plantations were created.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, periods of social unrest and economic instability ended in peaceful independence in 1975. Since then, São Tomé and Príncipe has been one of Africa’s most stable and democratic countries, though it is still considered a developing country.
What Do People Eat in São Tomé and Príncipe?
Popular foods that grow well in São Tomé and Príncipe include bananas, breadfruit, taro, maize, beans, papaya, palm oil, cocoa, and coffee. Fish and seafood are widely available, and poultry is raised on the islands. However, the country is not able to provide enough food to sustain its population, so most is imported.
A lot of dishes show Portuguese and African influences, typically using ingredients found on the islands and in the surrounding area.
What I Made
Scroll down to read about other popular São Toméan dishes I didn’t make!
Calulu (Fish Stew)
Calulu is a stew that is popular in a few countries in Central Africa. It’s made with fish and vegetables, usually including lots of greens. The recipe I was using called for dried fish, but I used fresh cod instead.
I began by sautéing onion in oil. I was meant to use red palm oil, but I forgot I had used the last of it, so I used canola oil instead. I personally don’t think the palm oil had a strong enough flavor for me to buy it again, either.
I added garlic, tomatoes, salt, and a whole serrano pepper that I had stabbed a few times, and cooked for a few more minutes. Then I added chopped cod, green beans, and some water just to cover everything. The recipe called for okra which I don’t really like, so green beans was my substitute.
When the fish and beans were just about cooked through, I stirred through some spinach and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. Before serving, I removed the serrano chili.
I thought this was quite good, despite its simplicity. I’m glad I skipped the okra; I’ve made similar stews before and included it, and I just couldn’t enjoy those dishes as much as I might have otherwise.
The recipe I used is from Kreol Magazine, but I made a few adjustments aside from those already mentioned. I skipped soaking and precooking the fish since it wasn’t necessary when using fresh cod. I also had to make up the rest of the steps of the recipe since they seemed to be missing at the time I’m writing this.
Matata (Clams in Port Wine)
This caught my eye as an interesting dish, with Portuguese influences. It’s a simple stew-like dish with clams and port as the main ingredients. I couldn’t find a lot of information on this dish past a few recipes, and it looks like it’s acceptable to use canned clams here, which is easier for me.
I first sautéd onion in olive oil, before adding tomato, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. After a few minutes, I poured in the port and simmered for a while. I stirred in canned clams and spinach, and simmered for a few more minutes.
I served this over rice, as suggested. It was very good!
I got this recipe from What’s Cooking In Your World. I just changed the steps a little so that I wasn’t simmering the clams for so long; I was worried they would get overly cooked and chewy.
Sanduiche de Salsicha (Sausage Sandwich)
This is literally just a sausage on a roll with mustard, but it was hard finding dishes to make this week and at least I knew it would be good! This is a fast food item, consisting of a roll with a Portuguese sausage (I used linguica) and mustard. That’s all there is to it! No recipe here. This was delicious of course.
Other Popular São Toméan Dishes
- Arroz doce – rice pudding, made with corn and coconut.
- Chicken with coffee sauce
- Barriga de peixe – grilled fish served with rice, breadfruit, or manioc/cassava.
Final Thoughts
Everything this week was pretty good, but my favorite food from São Tomé and Príncipe was probably the matata. It was a lot better than I was expecting, especially considering I used canned clams.
Next time, I will be cooking food from Saudi Arabia.
I’m currently on my own ‘cooking the world’ journey, and I am loving your blog.
It’s interesting you don’t find red palm oil to have much flavour. I find it very noticable.
Maybe I didn’t get very good palm oil! It had some flavor but I never thought it was particularly strong. Good luck on your cooking journey :)